Heineken calls for last orders on multi-buys

A crackdown on two-for-one deals on alcohol in supermarkets would be a more
“realistic” way of tackling binge-drinking in Britain than minimum unit
pricing, one of Heineken’s top executives has said.

Heineken, whose brands in the UK include Foster’s, is “absolutely not in favour” of its beers and ciders being used in supermarket multi-buy promotions to encourage shoppers through the doors.Photo: PA

René Hooft Graafland, chief financial officer of Heineken, said the Government would be wiser to enforce stricter rules on supermarkets as he believes multi-buy offers encourage drinkers to buy in greater volume.

“We feel it [multi-buys] is a much more realistic option to work on,” Mr Hooft Graafland said in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph. “You avoid saying: 'The more you buy, the cheaper you get it’. That is not the idea.”

Heineken, whose brands in the UK include Foster’s, John Smith’s, Bulmers and Strongbow, is “absolutely not in favour” of its beers and ciders being used in supermarket multi-buy promotions to encourage shoppers through the doors, he said.

Supermarkets often sell alcohol at a loss to increase “footfall” and encourage shoppers to spend on other items.